Press Releases

Posted on December 18, 2014

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2014 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) today said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s publication of volume four of the safety evaluation report for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is “is yet more evidence that we need to move forward” with the plan to permanently store nuclear waste.

“Today’s report is yet more evidence that we need to move forward with Yucca Mountain, and that to stall because of safety concerns would be to ignore science. This report confirms that the Department of Energy’s management plan for Yucca Mountain meets all of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s requirements for the right programs and people to oversee the safe storage of used fuel from nuclear reactors. I will continue to work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make sure it completes its review of Yucca Mountain’s license application so nuclear power can continue to be a source of clean, cheap, and reliable electricity in the United States.”

The report confirms that the Department of Energy’s management plan for Yucca Mountain – including research and development and performance confirmation programs, as well as other administrative controls, systems and programs – meet applicable NRC requirements. Completion of Yucca Mountain would still require a number of other steps outside of the management plan, which include exclusively dedicating the land for use as a nuclear waste repository, and the Department of Energy acquiring sufficient water rights.